Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Photo-a-Day: Captain America

My little boy earned some money recently when we sold off some of his old toys. When I asked him what he wanted to get with his new earnings, he leaned close & whispered, "I want to get Daddy a Captain America shield."
What a cutie! He wanted to get something for Daddy & he loves it when Daddy wears his Captain America shirt, so I guess the shield is the logical next step. ;)

The money came & went. Then one day he & Daddy came back from shopping & Daddy had bought HIM the Captain America shield. He LOVES it & has a place to hang it on his faux-brick wall in his room. :)


Christmas Nail Art

Here are the designs we decided on for our Christmas nails! My 2 eldest, "Thing 1" & "Thing 2", both wanted ornaments & Christmas trees on their nails. They picked out different colors & different locations for their Tree nail art.

Thing 1 chose red, green, & yellow/gold for her ornaments. Thing 2 chose red & purple.
They were *so* excited to be able to share these designs at school for the last couple days before the holiday break.
"< SarcasticRant>" Really? They're still in school all this week & Christmas is only next Tuesday! What has happened with all the budget-cutting furlough days? What is this country coming too?! " " (Wow, Blogger actually thought that was HTML code, but unfortunately only shrunk the text size.)

Little Thing 4 also had her nails done, although since she's still enjoying her toddler years, it was quite impressive that she held still long enough for one simple coat of purple to dry! ;) Not long enough for a photo though.
Amazingly, Thing 3 was distracted elsewhere & I didn't have to explain *again* why Daddy wouldn't want him having his nails painted. ;)

Oh yes, and MY nails are the green French tips with some favorite Christmas symbols on them. From thumb to pinky they are: snowflake, bow, Nativity star, poinsettia, & peppermint stripes.
(Obviously my utter confidence in your being able to visually decipher them in the picture has led me to posting the list.)

Have a very Merry Christmas! :)





Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Oregon Sunrise)

A colorful Oregon Sunrise from a couple days ago.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Photo-a-Day: Panko Baked Chicken recipe

Yes, this picture comes with a scrumptious recipe today.

I never bake chicken, but I have fond & tasty memories of my Mother doing so often when I was growing up. I thought it was about time to take a crack at it for my kids.

I had some Panko bread crumbs from leftover from doing some pork chops (also a first) & so I wanted to use them on the chicken. I also like easy seasoning, so I grabbed a Ranch dip seasoning packet.
This is where my food ingenuity stopped, how exactly do I make this happen & turn out right? So I looked up a Baked Panko Chicken recipe online (this one: http://will-davis.hubpages.com/hub/PankoCrustedOvenFriedChickenRecipe ) & adjusted it for the seasoning I already had.

1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I *actually* had this!)
1 Ranch dip seasoning packet
2 eggs, beaten
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (or a bunch of tenders-like I did)
Cooking oil spray

Preheat your oven to 375. Lightly coat your baking dish with the cooking spray. Combine the Panko, seasoning, & cheese in a shallow bowl/dish. Dip the chicken breasts/tenders in the beaten eggs, then coat both sides with the Panko mixture & place in your baking dish.

For chicken breasts, bake 35-40 minutes.
For smaller chicken tenders, bake 30-35 minutes.


Enjoy your delicious chicken! We sure did. :)
(This photo is the one little last chicken tender that everyone was too full to eat.)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Masquerade)

I don't know if you've noticed them, but I am *loving* this year's selection of Masquerade masks in the Halloween departments in stores. It makes me want to host a Masquerade themed party this year!
(I won't get to since I've got such a low budget, but I've entertained the idea since falling in live with the 2004 movie adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. It will just have to stay on my "someday" list & I will hope they keep this theme around for a few years.)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Oregon Sky)

A beautiful September Oregon country sky.

Photo-a-Day (child photographer)

With all the new smart phones with digital photography capabilities & apps with several "effects" almost everyone has taken up a new "photography hobby".

Even my little Thing 4 thinks she is a photographer... As evidenced by the photos I keep finding on my phone...

Captioned:
"ooh, picture!"

"uh oh!"

"Mommy got me."

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Photo-a-Day (aw, who cares what number?)

Obviously I've messed up with posting every day, so we'll just try to continue on from here... Although I may do some extra catch-up posts.

Continuing on the custom birthday cake theme, here is a Puss in Boots cake made mosaic-style with M&Ms.

My husband is truly talented. :)

(Ooh! I did the Spanish birthday greeting! ...although I realized afterwards that I forgot the upside down exclamation point that should have started the greeting.)

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 22)

Themed birthday cake #3: NY Yankees (Lego)

This cake was made for a friend's son. He's a huge sports fan & loved the Yankees. We had recently purchased this amazing cake pan: Lego mini-fig. ;) so we baked him up, added another regular cake underneath, added a "fancy" frosting job, & delivered it to the excited Dad to surprise his son with. :)

Photo-a-Day (Day 21)

Themed birthday cake #2: Hello Kitty

Little Thing 4 is quite in love with anything Hello Kitty. She frequently just calls her "My Kitty". :)
Daddy once again was the baker & architect of the birthday cake. He constructed it by baking a circle pan & a square pan. Cut the circle in half, insert a strip cut from the square to make the cake more oval, used the square's corners for ears, carved a bow out of the remainder, frosted, Oreo eyes, & voila! ;)

We also had a Hello Kitty cupcake (not pictured for the birthday girl to freely dive into.

Photo-a-Day (Day 20)

Themed birthday cake #1: Minecraft.

This is Thing 3's birthday cake from this year. He loves to play the game of Minecraft on the computer, the iPad, & the iPhone; anywhere, anytime.

Daddy did an amazing job on the cake: it's a white cake, dyed blue (for water), brownies (made in a squares pan: for the dirt), topped with white chocolate squares dyed green (for grass) & accented with M&M "flowers", fruity Tootsie Roll "trees", & a little white frosting "snow".

Just one picture doesn't do the cake justice. ;)

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 19)

"The Look"
This one was taken with the "photo booth" app on an iPad. My little Thing 4 loved to give us this glare for pictures.

Now every time her brother grabs the iPad to play games, she's there on the screen, glaring at him.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 16)

Yummy:
My work-aholic tendencies are known to my husband. I keep working because things just need to get done & then realize I haven't eaten in hours.
These lovelies were found in my purse on one such day, when I was about to give in & go buy some late lunch, left there by my wonderful hubby.

As you can tell, I couldn't wait for the picture before diving right in to my PayDay. ;)

Photo-a-Day (Day 15)

Working, working, working...
With all the time I've been putting in lately, I wanted to share another work-related photo for Day 15.
Here is Thing 3 helping me haul gear after a job a couple months ago.

My big helper had also recently taken scissors to his own hair, so Daddy finished the job & we won't be seeing his curls for a while.

Photo-a-Day (Day 14)

I've been getting behind in my posts again, due to my real job that's taking over my life for a couple weeks. I've been taking *real* photos, so I haven't remembered my Instagram photos for my blog.
This is one of the cameras I get to use at my job. AWESOME camera. :D

Friday, July 6, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 13)

Loose:
Both of Thing 2's top front teeth! She didn't have much of a gap before, now both front teeth are loose & the gap is rapidly growing... Just like my big girl. :)

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 12)

Happy Independence Day!
We have 2 American flags. For Independence Day we feel more patriotic rockin' the colonial flag. :)

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 11)

From my kids:
A homemade Independence Day decoration. :) Grandma helped them make it (they got to paint).

Photo-a-Day (Day 10)

My state:
Oregon.
I love Oregon. It's beautiful. I can drive 1-2 hours & find almost any sort of climate/environment I want (except tropical). The beach, the mountains, the green valley (although there are allergies to deal with), the lakes, the desert, lava caves, dunes, etc.

Oregon is awesome.

Photo-a-Day (Day 9)

Rare:
So a couple years ago when Thing 1 was bored during summer break, part of a conversation came upon the word "rare". Daddy gave an example of the 4-leaf clover.
Ooh, idea! Send bored little girl out to hunt for the rare 4-leaf clover in our yard! That will keep her busy for a while!
We snickered & thought Daddy was so clever for thinking of this... Until 5 minutes later Thing 1 came back into the house with a 4-leaf clover!!!
"What?! I've never even seen one in person in MY whole life!" (said both Mommy & Daddy)

A few days later, Thing 2 found her first 4-leaf clover.
Thus began the discovery that, for at least one summer, our clover patches were prone to that special 'mutation' called the 4-leaf clover.
Eventually Daddy & I even found 1 each. The kids were much better at finding them.

So this is a picture of our pressed collection of clovers, surrounding the word that started it all, "Rare".

P.S. We have given a couple away as gifts to special friends, so this is 'almost' the entire collection. ;)

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 8)

Something new... & muddy:
My shoes.
I bought this pair of shoes last night for the sole purpose (haha! I didn't even mean the pun!) of wearing them today while working. I worked at a wedding. The lovely Oregon rain resulted in quite a few muddy feet today.
Not to mention the bride's dress. It's alright now though, she rinsed her dress out in the creek. ;)

Photo-a-Day (Day 7)

Drat, my first "oops, missed a day" post is only a week into my Photo-a-Day mission.

Oh well, here it is.
3-legs, the dog. :)
This year we adopted a very sweet 3-legged dog. Although he is quite cute & lovey, he is also a conniving partner-in-crime with little 2-yr-old Thing 4. They make quite the pair of Mayhem.

And yes, he loves his pillows. :)

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 6)

Furry:
My sweet kitty! She's the only one who gets to snuggle with me every night.
(That is what happens when your hubby works nights.)

So you have now met the sweetest, most tolerant kitty in the world.
She puts up with almost anything the kids do. :)
The dog is an exception. :P

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 5)

My first item I created & then posted to Pinterest:
Wonder Woman nails. :)
I came up with the design myself, and yes, that is a Wonder Woman shirt I'm wearing in the background. My husband made it for me. ;)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 3)

In my yard:
This is a picture of the cherry tree in my front yard. Looks tasty right? Except out of the whole family, only Little Thing 4 & myself like cherries.

Luckily we have friends to share our bounty. And birds. And the dog, whom eats the fallen ones off the ground. :P

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Photo-a-Day (Day 2)

Well this happens to be another piece of jewelry, the most amazing locket I've ever found & with just enough spaces!

Of course, keeping up with my Things 1-4 takes the strength (& patience) of a SuperWoman. ;)

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A Change of Pace: Photo-a-Day (Day 1)

Since I am obviously so witty & elegant that my blog is overflowing with posts, (/sarcasm) I have decided to go a new direction: PHOTOS!
These photos will be somewhat of random items, similar to those Photo-a-Day monthly assignments, but of my own choosing.

So for my first photo-a-day post, this is my wedding ring. :)
This is the 12th calendar year it has been on my finger. <3

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Just ignore that *mess* behind the curtain...


Yep, I made one of THOSE signs.
Have you ever wanted to post a picture to Facebook, Pinterest, or your blog, only to realize that you can't find a good angle to hide the mess that: A) you have just created with your project, B) the kids made while you were working on (baking/crafting/sewing/etc), C) you were ignoring so you could finally finish your project,
or D) ALL of the above.


Just push a few things out of the way to take the picture & get it posted... *then* clean-up. ;)

(Because we know that the kids will continue to make a mess while you're posting it online anyway, so do that first or you'll just be cleaning all day & never make your post.)


P.S. Make time to PLAY with your kids every day.
It's a great stress reliever to ignore the messes and just be silly right along with them. 

Did She Really Just Say That?

So my 4 little "Things" have a new cousin.
The other day all the cousins were together at Grandma's house (which made Grandma absolutely *GIDDY* of course, don't worry the camera came out for pictures).
Thing 2 got to hold her newest cousin for a little bit. After handing the baby back, she asked her Aunt & Uncle, "Did the doctor spank her when she was born?"
Response: "No."
Thing 2: "But I thought she was brand-spanking-new??"

*pause* We all look at each other and start laughing!

Wow, I never really thought of that phrase in that way before...

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Picky Eaters!

"Every family has one." Oh sure, but we have 2 & sometimes 3 picky eaters who refuse to eat what they're given, whether they actually know what it tastes like or not.

As expectant parents (many moons ago) we had these ideas of how we were going to teach our children. What rules & teaching methods we were going to use. As any parent knows, the majority of that kind of planning is thrown out the window as your little ones grow. Not that you aren't still instituting rules, but each child is so different that you need to get to know their personality & challenges to best teach them. 

So here is where I'm going with this, our philosophy for dealing with picky eaters was going to be simple & stern. You eat what you are given for dinner, or you go to bed hungry. (This was adapted from my parents' much more strict & only ever enforced upon myself "Eat it or wear it" concept. Yes, I was a picky eater too.)

Our pickiest eater: Thing 2. The happy-go-lucky child who suddenly pulls on several generations of extreme stubbornness to utterly refuse to eat (or even try) something new, no matter how hungry she is. No problem, this just means bedtime without dinner. After going through this routine a few times, it dawns on me that a pattern has emerged: every morning after a skipped dinner, Thing 2 is getting sick all over the place. 

Talk about adding insult to injury. Not only is she too stubborn to eat the food we offer & isn't improving or learning from skipping her dinners, we have to clean up after a sick little girl most of the next day. UGH.

Unfortunately, this has turned into some compromise in different ways as she grows. At times it was, "Eat what we fixed or all you get is plain bread." She ate a lot of plain bread... and liked it. Tried the, "I don't care if you get sick, you are going to eat this or go to bed hungry & start throwing up in the morning!" I think that worked once. Tried a few different things that have gone by the wayside. 

So all of this finickiness has changed over time as to what she will or will not eat. The current struggle with both Thing 2 AND 1 is vegetables of course. They liked them just fine when they were toddlers, but one day just refused to eat them anymore. Thing 3 & 4 rarely have a problem with veggies. 

Our new dinner plan: veggies FIRST, then main course. They can even pick whatever tasty thing they want for dinner, but before they ever get a smear of it on their plate, they have to FINISH their veggie.
Last night Thing 3 plowed through his broccoli like it was nothing (Yay!) and then went on to eat all his pot-stickers and a bowl of ice cream.
Thing 1 & 2 were less than amused by the selection & the amount of broccoli they had to get through (maybe about 1/4 cup). "I'll let you have some seasoning on it, what do you want?" The Johnny's seasoning salt was selected & applied & the girls claimed that it made the broccoli SO much better... and they sat & stared at their plates. The dinner awaiting them was none other than their coveted Ling Ling Pot-stickers (pan-fried!). Apparently this was not enough to tempt them to eat.
Although I'm not opposed to "spare" pot-stickers & I usually have a no-negotiation policy with culinary terrorists, I decided to give them a deal: Eat all the broccoli & get your 4 pot-stickers. Eat half your broccoli & get ONE pot-sticker. Eat 1 broccoli & you can eat a couple slices of plain bread to keep yourself from getting sick. 

Thing 1 took me up on the half broccoli for a single pot-sticker deal.
Thing 2 decided on the plain bread route... but still had to get through 1 'horrible' broccoli floret. After a long time hemming, hawing, nibbling, grimacing, & complaining, it came down to this: "Guess what your throw up is going to taste like since you've already eaten some of the broccoli? REALLY NASTY broccoli. If you think it's bad now, just wait until it's coming back up in the morning just because you didn't eat enough of it."
Boo-yah! That was the magic touch & the last half of her piece of broccoli all went down (with a large glass of water). She never looked so happy to eat 2 pieces of plain white bread. 

When Thing 4 awoke from her nap half-way through dinner she cleaned up the remaining broccoli off her big sisters plates. She thought she was getting her dessert first. 

Tonight we had baby carrots. Thing 2's favorite veggie.
Thing 1 had to thoroughly drown them in Ranch dressing. 

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Snow day!

... In which we stayed home & didn't even play in the snow much.

Oh, Things 1 & 2 made a "snowman" about 10" tall. (Even with raisins for eyes, mouth & buttons, and a baby carrot nose.)
Thing 1 made a couple snow angels. Thing 3 practiced making & throwing snowballs at inanimate objects.
Thing 4 just stayed inside all day & didn't seem interested in exploring our temporary winter wonderland.

But all the outdoor fun seems to have been short-lived... And then all the snow melted.

Why did I bother getting everyone's multiple layers on this morning? And searched high & low for matching sets of gloves & mittens? (Thing 3 still went out with 1 mitten & 1 sock on his hands.)

And now they're SO excited to see that it's snowing again AND there's no school tomorrow...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Crew (aka: my VelociRaptor pack)

After giving the oldest kiddos the choice for their blog 'nicknames', we decided on doing an easy to remember group theme. As Dr. Seuss fans, we have decided on Things 1 through 4. ;) So here they are:
Thing 1


Thing 1: My oldest is a beautiful 8 year old. Usually pretty helpful, however loves to join in the hyper-activity of the pack right around bedtime every night.

Thing 2

Thing 3
Thing 2: My 2nd oldest is a beautiful 6 year old. A little more free-spirited, but also quite helpful with the younger siblings.


Thing 4
Thing 3: My only boy, and he sure is Handsome. This rambunctious 3 year old is what you would expect of an energetic boy... except he frequently asks to watch "My Little Ponies."


Thing 4: My tiny girl is my youngest beauty. Only a year & a half old, she thoroughly knows the ways of the "Terrible Twos". She knows she's cute & makes ample use of it.




That rounds out the gang of kiddos. All that cuteness keeps things pretty busy & interesting around here.

About the Title

For Moms out there, my blog title probably needs no explanation.
However for those who may be wondering, I'll explain. I'm a Mom of 4 kids. When getting the family ready to go somewhere, I usually grab the kids & get them cleaned, dressed & ready to get out the door first. Mommy's time comes last. So when it's especially difficult getting child cooperation, Mommy's time dwindles. Shaving the legs doesn't always happen before church & special events. That is when long, pretty dresses come in handy. I can hide my hairiness & still feel pretty despite it.
The makeup usually gets a little thin as well.

What part of your routine have you sacrificed for the kids?

This Is Me

  I guess I'm supposed to talk about myself here... not something I'm very good at. Ask me about my kids & I can go on and on. Well, here goes...
  My name is MandaLin. I'm within my last year in my 20s. I have been married for 11 years and have 4 kids, aged 8 - 1.5 years old. This blog is about my thoughts & adventures of being a Mom of 4 busy kids. I work part-time, while my husband works full-time. In other words, busy, Busy, BUSY.
  In my "spare time" I'm trying to complete a few art & craft projects, keep up with my scrapbooks, and BAKE some tasty, unhealthy goodies. (Not that I really get much time for any of these.) Eventually it would be nice to read again. I haven't picked up a book that didn't have an "Illustrator" listed on the cover in years. 
  And now I've started a Blog. We'll see how this goes. ;)